While it may seem premature to label a fixture as 'must-win' at this early stage in the competition, it would be difficult to argue against that being the case for the Slovenian champions if they have designs on making the knockout stages.
As the team with the lowest UEFA coefficient in Group G, a home tie against the third-ranked outfit represents perhaps Maribor's best chance of picking up valuable points in a pool that also contains Chelsea and Schalke.
But Portugal-born striker Luka Zahovic, who has scored five goals in as many league matches this season, claims that he feels part of Maribor's golden generation.
"Last season, I said that this is the best generation ever to play for Maribor," he told the club's official website. "I'm proud that I can be part of this team and the great thing is that we can play in the Champions League.
"We earned it. We look forward to all of the action that follows."
Marco Silva's Sporting, meanwhile, have endured an underwhelming start to the Primeira Liga campaign.
A 1-0 home victory over Arouca remains their only win of the season so far, having been held to 1-1 draws in their other three fixtures to date.
"Obviously people were expecting big things," he told Sporting's website. "We wanted to start the season in the best possible way and we still have a lot of games to play.
"We will fight as hard as we can to get better results."
Defenders Ramy Rabia (stomach) and Cedric (back) are expected to be the only injury doubts for Sporting, while Maribor are thought to have a fully fit squad to choose from.
